Central Tennessee Bass Club Tournament Rules
1. Tournaments: The number of tournaments is to be determined by the Board of Directors. Participation is open to anyone recommended by a member in good standing. Guest participants may fish with the club one (1) time per calendar year on either a paying or non-paying basis. Paying guests will be eligible to win tournament prize money.
2. Entry Fees: The entry fee for each tournament must be received on or before the day of the pre-tournament meeting, unless previous arrangements are made with a member of the tournament committee. Breakdown of the entry fee is as follows: $15 for tournament, $5 for big bass, and $5 toward the Classic. Entry Fees are not refundable except under special circumstances at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
3. Late entries: Must be received by the Tournament Director by 5:00 PM of the Tuesday prior to the tournament. A $10.00 late fee will be imposed and all late entry pairings will be determined by the Tournament Director. In the event of a shortage of non-boaters for a tournament, late fees for non-boaters will be waived. Late entry boaters will automatically be paired with the last non-boater drawn or assigned by the tournament director. Late entry boaters will be prohibited from bringing their own guest.
4. Safety: Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times by tournament competitors. Each tournament participant must wear a Coast Guard approved life preserver properly fastened anytime his boat is underway by its main source of propulsion. Tournament officials have the right to delay or cancel the start of an official tournament day because of the weather or other factors that would endanger the safety of the competitors. Tournament waters may also be restricted at any time because of bad weather.
5. Sportsmanship: Competitors in the tournament are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for disqualification. Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times, especially in regard to boating and angling in the vicinity of non-competitors who may be on tournament waters. Any act of a competitor which reflects unfavorably on the club's effort to promote fisheries conservation, clean waters and courtesy shall be reason for disqualification. Fishing is permitted anywhere on the tournament waters, except within fifty (50) yards of another contestant's anchored boat.
6. Tackle and Equipment: Only artificial lures may be used. No "live bait" or "prepared bait" will be permitted, with the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc. Only one casting, spinning or spin-casting rod and reel may be used at any one time. All other types are prohibited. Other rigs as specified above may be in the boat, ready for use; however, only one is permitted in use at any given time. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Snagging or snatching of bass on spawning beds is prohibited. The use of grippers in landing bass is prohibited. Landing of bass with a dip net is permitted.
7. Boat and motor: Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment. For the safety of all contestants, all boats must be equipped with some type of operable kill switch. The kill switch device must be attached to the driver's body anytime the combustion engine is in operation. All boats must be equipped with an operable aerated live well. Trolling as a means of fishing is prohibited.
8. Boat operation and expense: A full discussion should be held between the two partners prior to a morning departure as to the schedule of boat operation. This schedule should permit each partner equal time; so as to afford each partner the opportunity to fish his selected waters an equal number of hours. Expenses are to be shared by payment of a pre-designated split fee to boater by non-boater, due no later than take-off. The non-boater that is drawn to fish with a boater is responsible to pay split fee, regardless of whether he participates or not. To protect his interest, the boater must declare that split fee is unpaid prior to weigh in and presentation of prize money. Those not paying at this time will be disqualified and not eligible for prize money for that tournament and suspended from future tournaments. See CTBC Bylaws ARTICLE IX, POLICY D for further actions to be taken.
9. Contestants Must Remain in Boat: Contestants must remain in the boat to fish or land fish. Boats must remain in tournament waters during tournament days. Contestants must leave and return to official checkpoint by boat. Both competitors must remain in boat at all times except in case of an emergency. In such an emergency, competitors may be removed from their boat to a boat operated by other competitors or a rescue boat. A competitor’s catch may be weighed in case of a breakdown by another member with the tournament committee’s approval; however, no late weigh-ins will be allowed.
10. Official Checkpoint: There shall be only one official point for check-out in the morning, and check-in in the afternoon, and this point will be designated at the tournament briefing. At the time of check-out, all competitors and their boats shall be in conformance with all the rules set forth by the Tournament Committee; at check-in, all boats shall proceed immediately to the designated weigh-in area.
11. Late fisherman: It will be each partner's responsibility to have his partner at the point of take-off. If, for some reason or emergency, a contestant's partner does not show up within thirty (30) minutes, the non-boater will fish with the last boat drawn during pairings.
12. Scoring: See scoring point sheet and payout schedule. Only largemouth, spotted, red-eye or smallmouth bass will be weighed. The limit shall be five (5) of the above species and varieties per day. All fish must be at least twelve (12) inches in length. All competitors are bound by the prevailing statutes and regulations of the various states within which they fish. A "Golden Rule" will be available for measuring fish at weigh in. Fish must be measured prior to the official weighing. A bass with a rough tongue patch shall be designated as a spotted bass. The Tournament Director shall make any required species determination.
13. No Re-Weighing: No re-weighing of fish will be permitted once your fish have been removed and the next contestant's fish recorded. Any protests or objections should be announced at the time of the weighing.
14. Don't kill your catch: Each competitor is expected to keep his catch alive by use of a properly aerated live well. A penalty of 0.2 lb. will be assessed for each dead fish weighed.
15. Protests: Any protests affecting the outcome of the tournament must be made prior to awards being presented. Any conduct violation should be reported to the Membership Director for Board review.
16. Late Penalty: Competitors who are not in the official checkpoint area (within the no wake zone) as described in rule 10 at the appointed time shall be penalized one (1) pound per minute up to ten (10) minutes and thereafter be disqualified.
17. Tournament Lakes: Lakes shall be determined by a vote on the individual lakes by the membership from the following list. Each member will vote by ballot for 10 lakes. After the tabulation of ballots the top 9 lakes will comprise our tournament lakes for the following season. Voting for lakes shall be conducted at the November meeting annually. Number of lakes may be adjusted by Board of Directors per Tournament Rule #1 prior to vote.
Barkley Beech Center Hill Cheatham Cordell Hull
Guntersville Kentucky Nickajack Normandy Old Hickory
Percy Priest Pickwick Pin Oak Tim’s Ford Wheeler
Wilson Woods
18. Classic: Members who meet the three (3) qualifications listed in ARTICLE IV - MEETINGS AND TOURNAMENTS, Item E in the bylaws will be eligible. Any boater who qualifies for the Classic tournament may fish as a boater. Qualified non-boaters will be paired with boaters by random draw.
The lake for the Classic Tournament will be selected by the Tournament Director.
There will be one official practice day, the day immediately before the first day of the annual CTBC Classic. For the six consecutive days prior to this one day of practice, the designated Classic Tournament lake will be strictly off limits to CTBC Classic Tournament participants.
19. CBTC Scoring - Payout and Points Schedule
Tournament Points
Place Points
1 200
2 190
3 180
4 170
5 160
6 150
7 140
8 130
9 120
10 110
· 11th Position on with fish 100
· 11th Position on without fish 50
· Twenty-five (25) points awarded for attendance at each club meeting (Feb though Sept).
· Fifty (50) points (if three per year scheduled) or seventy-five (75) points (if two per year scheduled) awarded for participation in non-tournament events of the club.
Tournament Payout
1 to 20 participants 21 + participants
First 60% First 50%
Second 30% Second 25%
Third 10% Third 15%
Fourth 10%
Total 100% Total 100%